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Flipside
(note: Flipside is the official debute storyarc of Betwixt, which will introduce the character along with the concepts of the Land Of Nowhere and so forth - although Betwixt is (of course) a rather cartoony character the story can be considered dark but fun.. hopefully balanced enough to keep most people active and happy..) Prologue The scene begins in a dark and forbidding dimension where the sky is almost pitch black save for a strange tear high in the air that leads to what appears to be a void of white - sitting atop a very large stack of broken down cars and scrap metal is what appears to be an anthropomorphic rabbit in the style of a cartoon from the early 20s, complete with a lack of coloring and overly expressive features. Despite his somewhat innocent appearance the rabbit looks up at the sky above with a frown suggesting a darker personality than what his outward persona would be expected to have: his ears folded back as he mutters slightly. "..bored.. bored.. bored.." he huffs, scratching behind one of his ears with an oversized footpaw when he suddenly sits up straight - his ears perking straight up as he suddenly becomes alert. "..wait, what's that? no.. it can't be.. it.." he gasps, leaping up and running down the stack of trash - causing it to start falling apart like a small avalanche as he bounces over to what looks like an old-fashioned projector. He quickly turns the projector on and after a few crackling sounds and blurry vision an image appears (in black and white) of what appears to be the "real" world - specifically showing the room of a collector of memorabilia from the 20s: who just happens to have many toys and merchandise sporting what appears to be the rabbit's image over them. "..oh baby! it's the jackpot! Moggy! Moggy! get over here!" the rabbit says excitedly, clapping his hands slightly. As the rabbit bounces slightly a rather short anthropomorphic mole dressed like an old-fashioned gentleman suddenly appeared next to him, as if by magic - "..you bellowed, sir?" the mole replied. "About time you got here, Moggy - look at this.. you see what I see?" the rabbit noted, pointing at the screen. "It would appear to be a specimen of homo sapien - human.. middle-aged.. somewhat monomanical.. a collector if you will.. and.. oh.. oh my.." the mole states, his small eyes growing large as he spots all the merchandise. "..that little collection is my ticket to freedom, Moggy - and we're going to get them.." the rabbit said. "..but sir, I.." the mole began only to be picked up by the rabbit, a hole appearing in the screen as he is literally tossed through. "no complaining Moggy! I'll catch you on the flipside!" the rabbit proclaimed, leaping in after him. Chapter 1 Moggy finds himself catapulted across a windy "tunnel" of varied colors before he finally lands on the concrete streets of an alley in a modern city - only taking the form of a rather short, plump human male - still dressed as a gentleman. "..oh my, how undignified.." Moggy fussed, dusting himself off only to fall down as Betwixt lands on top of him, only he now resembles a human with long spikey hair of pure black, with a little white streak: his clothing still that of an old-fashioned drifter. "..well Moggy, what you laying around for.. we got a job to do.." Betwixt noted, hopping off Moggy and begining to walk down the alley. (those who wish to contribute can edit below) As they walk down the street they are being watched by a young female with a small bird, which resembles a miniature eagle, on her shoulder. Betwixt and Moggy find themselves confronted by a group of street-thugs just as they are about to leave the alley, the thugs dressed in almost stereotypical leather jackets and sporting a collection of piercings as well as wild mohawks: one of them flips open a blade and points it at the duo. "Alright freaks, just give us whatever you got and nobody gets hurt.." one of the group warns. Betwixt smirks a little and shakes his head, "..you don't want that.. trust me.." One of the thugs begins to approach threateningly "..you some sort of wise-guy?" Betwixt grins widely, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning back as he tilts his head to Moggy "..seems these guys don't know when to quit, Moggy.." The thugs look at one another, confused, the one holding the blade suddenly lunges forward as if to attack. Before anything can be done however Betwixt pulls his hands out his pockets, revealing two powerful guns that explode with great force - unleashing what appear to be boxing gloves, however they hit two of the thugs with enough strength to knock them out. "..*^&%! run!" one of the thugs yells as the remaining group scatter, Betwixt lets out a mad laugh as he literally falls back onto the pavement, wiping a tear from his eye. "..now that's what I call a real *punch* line.. eh, Moggy?" he taunts, clearly pleased with himself. "..quite sir, however.. if I may say so..perhaps we should demonstrate more restraint in future - we don't have full access to our abilities in this dimension and attempting to utilize them may have negative effects upon the stability of the natural order.." Moggy replies. "..you worry too much, lighten up and enjoy yourself.. after all.. it's not every day you get a look at the flipside" Betwixt replied, sitting up. Suddenly an armored figure appears in the alley near the two beings - clearly female in appearance but having most of her features hidden under futuristic armor: including what appear to be a pair of large wings. "you don't belong here" the figure speaks simply, her voice somewhat disguised by hidden technology. A few minutes a woman in red comes out of the shadows, clutching an axe - she looks to Betwixt, Moggy and the armored figure as she states: "none of you belong here - the question is, what are you doing here? answer wisely.." Suddenly, the woman that was watching Betwixt and Moggy earlier appears behind the woman in red. "Neither of us belongs her, including myself. Yet we all seem to have some business here..." she moves next to the woman in red, simpy waiting. Betwixt raises an eyebrow and nudges Moggy as he puts his hands behind his back and sways in place in an exaggerated manner "..Moggy, we have a problem - seems these people have forgotten who they are talking too.. in fact that's been the problem for the last 80 years.." Moggy simply looks at the assorted group without much in the way of expressions and comments " - in all fairness, sir.. we aren't in our natural forms.. this dimension restrains us.. which is why we must.." Betwixt interrupts before Moggy can finish, "..the flipside has forgotten about us, Moggy.. well that's all going to change - because when I'm done everybody is gonna remember me.." - with that he grabs Moggy and leaps into the air, impossibly high: landing on the ground behind the main group and taking off in a literal cloud of dust.. a trail of scorched earth providing an easy means of tracking the strange pair. Amnesty turns into a string of green smoke, swiftly following the trail. Red leaps up onto the rooftops above and begins to run along them - leaping across gaps as needed and keeping her gaze forward as her eyes narrow in concentration as she follows the trail below. The trail ends at a Retirement Home, which now looks as if a small hurricane just passed by - staff are tied up with rope and gagged but no one seems to be harmed.. an old man in a wheelchair seems to be waiting, as if expecting people to be following: "..I'm afraid you won't catch them.. if you want to beat a toon.. however you can outsmart them.." he says, chuckling slightly as he looks to the tied up staff "..they said I was crazy.. guess this showed them.." - he becomes more serious though in the next sentence "..but I suppose most folk have forgotten about the toons.. maybe it's for the best..". Amnesty takes on her normal form in front of the old man. "What do you mean?" The old man seems remarkable unfazed by the events going on around him, though judging by the way he talks he probably never a particularly sane individual - "..you ever seen a cartoon or read a comic book? even a book with pictures? well you see the things in those "stories" are normally just that.. stories.. but if someone thinks long and hard enough the "story" starts to take a life of its own.. I think those monks in Tibet had a word for it.. a "Tulpa" they said.. a sort of living dream..". The old man wheels himself around slightly, looking at the visible outline of two figures on a nearby wall - as if someone had carved through the wall with stencils: "..a "toon" is what happens when enough people believe strong enough in something that isn't quite real.. problem is once you make a "toon" you can't get rid of them.. the best you can do is try and keep them locked away.. like a bad memory..". Amnesty nods. "But what place can hold a cartoon?" The old man shakes his head a little "..toons don't belong in the real-world, eventually they break apart and return to wherever it is such beings go.. however if they succeed in getting enough people to start believing in them again they can use that to "anchor" themselves into the real-world.. what you people need to do is delay them long enough that they can't succeed in doing that.. I want to help but what use is an old man going to be? you people are young and strong.. best thing I can do is try and forget about what happened today.. like I said.. the more people start believing the stronger the "toons" get.." Amnesty sighs. "I guess that means I'll have to wipe your memories..." The armored figure appears behind Amnesty and speaks "..I have a better idea.." - she looks to the old man "..I will put you to sleep, along with those affected by this anomaly.. long enough for us to find these "toons" and send them back.. once they are returned to their native world you will awaken and return to your life.. what little of it is left anyway.." Amnesty turns towards the armored figure. "Go ahead. Do your thing, but don't mess up. These toons are more dangerous than they seem." Red arrives and looks around before commenting, having just heard Amnesty's comment "..dangerous? we have faced gods, demons and the inane babbling of madmen.. what makes you think those two jokers pose a threat?" Amnesty turns towards Red. "Don't underestimate them, Red. It is true we have faced many dangers, but that doesn't mean these "Jokers" aren't dangerous as well." The old man wheels himself over to a window, looking outside - even as the rest of the home is in ruins: "..sleep sounds good about now.. I haven't slept in a long time.. here.. I won't need this any more.." - he tosses a small and tattered stuffed animal towards the group, it resembles a black and white rabbit dressed in the style of an old-fashioned drifter from the 20s. "..just remember.. no matter what happens.. toons don't kill..". The armored figure extends her hands and before long the old man is put to sleep along with all the other residents and staff of the retirement home - a small chain of purple energy swirls around their necks like a collar in the process: "..I have put them in suspended animation via manipulating their inner-workings on a level most of you won't know about for another 30 years - now, let us continue our pursuit before I decide to erase this entire time-line as a matter of principle..". Amnesty walks to the wall with the holes in it. "I think it shouldn't be hard to follow them." Chapter 2 Far away Betwixt and Moggy arrive at an old house, without warning Betwixt leaps at the door and smashes in - Moggy runs after him with concern as he notices the ground beginning to change as strange puddles start to appear on the ground, spreading outward as reality begins to take on a more black and white feel. "..sir! please! stop.. if you continue to breach the natural order like this you could destabilize.. not just yourself.. but the entire world.." Moggy begins but stops as Betwixt turns around. "..Moggy, I'm not going to fade away.. and if I do.. I'm not going alone.. now stop rambling and get moving.." Betwixt states, as he does so his human appearance starts to visibly decay, giving way to a more "cartoony" feel as his hands and feet begin to take on the appearance of large paws and his hair starts to resemble a pair of slightly floppy ears: the color seeming to slowly fade from his form. "..very well, sir.." Moggy replies after a moment, looking briefly at his own hands - which are starting to change as well, though not as rapidly as Betwixt "..let us make haste..". With that the two make their way into the house, the door slamming shut behind them as an absurdly complex collection of locks, chains and boards suddenly appear on said door along with a small sign held on by a nail that reads "Do Not Disturb". Red arrives at the house and looks at the door, frowning slightly as she looks over the elaborate collection of locks and chains: then swiftly smashes through them with her axe with a slightly feral growl.. "seems like someone isn't very good at hiding their tracks.." she notes, then aims to kick the door down. Category:Story Category:Storyarcs